The 5 Best Whiskey Bars in NYC

Between the hipster infatuation with bourbon and the brown-bitter-and-stirred leanings of the classic cocktail revival, New York City is a great place to be a whiskey drinker. These days, it seems like even the corner dive has a few solid bottles lurking behind the bar.

With such an abundance of good whiskey in NYC, it’s worth seeking out bars that approach brown spirits with a distinct point of view—whether that means curating a highly specialized bottle list, or nailing staples like the Manhattan and Old Fashioned. To help you out, we’ve featured a temple to all-American spirit in South Williamsburg, a Tribeca lounge where you’d feel right at home in a smoker’s jacket, and more.

Post Office

Address and phone: 188 Havemeyer, Williamsburg, Brooklyn (718-963-2574)
Website:postofficebk.comGood for: Small-batch American whiskey and classic cocktails
You have to love this South Williamsburg bar for its top-notch American whiskey list, and the fact that it takes its name from Charles Bukowski's debut novel. There are 30-plus varieties of American bourbon and rye whiskey on offer—the majority of them small-batch and unique—as well as classic cocktails like the Little Devil with rye, Peychaud's Bitters, Combier, and Dolin Blanc. If you get hungry while you're sipping on your spirits, you're in luck; chef Sam Glinn (Brooklyn Star, Momofuku) turns out the best version of New Brooklyn-style eating at prices that don't make you want to pack up and move to Philly. Pair your Willett rye with a chicken liver-and-bacon sandwich while Tom Waits warbles over the stereo.

Brandy Library

Address and phone: 25 N Moore St #1 (212-226-5545)
Website:brandylibrary.comGood for: Sipping luxury spirits amid dark woods and leather
Brandy Library isn't new or trendy; it doesn't have any big-name mixologists behind the bar or a celebrity chef in the kitchen. But it is a dependable escape for anyone who wants to embrace the smoker's-jacket, pheasant-hunting cliches of whiskey drinking. The cozy room is designed to look like a library, only instead of books, there are endless backlit bottles of every dark spirit imaginable. You'd be hard-pressed to find a deeper Scotch selection, but the list also goes deep on American and Irish whiskeys, and there are some fun oddities like K5 from Bhutan and Mackmyra from Sweden. But despite the top-notch booze, the best part might be the warm gougères that come free with your drinks.

Whiskey Soda Lounge

Address and phone: 115 Columbia St, Columbia Street Waterfront District, Brooklyn (718-797-4120)
Website:whiskeysodalounge-ny.comGood for: Mekhong Thai whiskey paired with fish-sauce chicken wings
Just across the street from chef Andy Ricker's Pok Pok NY is this temple of whiskey and Thai bar snacks. Christmas lights and wrestling posters set the mood, and there's a full cocktail menu and whiskey list to compliment plates of Vietnamese fish-sauce chicken wings and fried hard-boiled eggs in tamarind sauce. The bar's spirits list focuses heavily on bourbon, with a few Scotches and Irish whiskeys for good measure. Forget everyday pours like Maker's Mark; instead, opt for the spicy, rum-like Mekhong Thai whiskey, or Suntory HIbiki 12-Year from Japan. Not feeling straight booze? Ask for the refreshing tamarind whiskey sour made with fresh lime, palm sugar, and bourbon.

Maysville

Address and phone: 17 W 26th St (646-490-8240)
Website: maysvillenyc.comGood for: American whiskey and refined, Southern-inflected cooking
Drinking wine with dinner is so 2 B.C. How about we kick it up a notch and pair our crispy pig's ears, oysters, and smoked trout with whiskey? Enter Maysville, a modern Flatiron joint named after a Kentucky port town that just so happens to be the birthplace of bourbon. Chef Kyle Knall, formerly of Gramercy Tavern and the great state of Alabama, brings a refined hand to creative Southern eats—arctic char is marinated with bourbon then served with golden beets and boiled peanuts, and duck confit with grits is nothing like the bistro standard you’re used to. All of this is complimented by an awe-inspiring selection of domestic brown spirits, which you can taste straight-up, on the rocks, or in well-made classics like Old-Fashioneds and Manhattans.

Char No. 4

Address and phone: 196 Smith St, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn (718-643-2106)
Website:charno4.com
Good for: Southern comfort food and bourbon
This Cobble Hill standby is so whiskey-obsessed, it takes its name from the stuff—there are different levels of char used on the oak staves in bourbon barrels, and four is the most intense. The front bar here is a temple to American-made brown spirits, and the staff is adept at helping you navigate the 300-odd bottles. The best way to dig in is to head to the restaurant on Saturday afternoons for guided tastings covering everything from historic cocktails to cask-strength. But if that doesn't work out, any time is good to belly up to the bar for a glass of Angel's Envy, a pulled-pork sandwich, and some fried pimento cheese.

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